Thursday, September 21, 2006

The Hurley School of Music at Centenary College will present guest cellists Paul Christopher and Ruth Drummond in "The Gift of Melody: The Cello Duos of Jacques Offenbach" at 3:00 PM Sun, Sept 24, in Anderson Recital Hall.

The duo released a compact disc by the same title in 2004 on the Human Metronome label. The second recording in the series, "The Perfect Gift," was released in 2005, and the third will be recorded this fall with a release scheduled for a later date. I'd like to add that I have a copy of their first disk and it's swell.

Christopher is Instructor of Low Strings at Northwestern State University and the principal cellist of the Longview Symphony Orchestra. He is also a member of the Sylvan Chamber Ensemble, which is on the Texas Commission of the Arts touring roster.

Prior to his appointment at Northwestern, he served 15 years as the principal cellist of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and Shreveport Opera and was a member of the Premier String Quartet.

Drummond, principal cellist of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and Shreveport Opera, is a member of the Premier String Quartet and cellist in the Evangeline Piano Trio. She is also a longtime member of the Baroque Artists of Shreveport. During the summer months, she is the principal cellist of the Shreveport Summer Music Festival and Opera East Texas.

The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call 869-5235.